Women's Lacrosse

Swarthout and Ajdari honored at Cardinal Leadership Celebration

Apr 18, 2012

WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, April 17, Mary Swarthout and Yasmeen Ajdari were honored by Catholic University at the annual Cardinal Leadership Celebration. Swarthout received the Marian Award, while Ajdari was the recipient of the John J. Convey Award.

The Marian Award was first given by the Colombian sorority in honor of Our Lady. It is the second highest honor awarded to a senior female at CUA. Recipients have a grade point average of 3.5 or better, and are set apart from other active individuals by their distinguished leadership, responsibility and service to the university and fellow students.

Swarthout is a two-sport standout at CUA, excelling in lacrosse and field hockey. She received All-America honors in field hockey this past season, while helping lead the Cardinals to their first conference championship and NCAA Tournament in school history.

On the lacrosse field, Swarthout is a three-time All-America selection, including first team honors a season ago. Blessed with blazing speed, Swarthout is a three-time first team All-Region and All-Conference honoree and has been named the Landmark Conference Player of the Year in each of the last two seasons.

In the classroom, Swarthout maintains an impressive 3.74 grade point average as a nursing major. She is a multi-year member of the Landmark Conference Academic Honor Roll, in addition to the NFHCA Division III National Academic Squad and IWLCA Academic Honor Roll. Swarthout is also a member of the SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) program.

This marks the second straight in which Swarthout received one of the university's top awards. In 2011, she was named the Mary J. O'Dwyer Flynn Memorial Award winner, which is the highest honor presented to a junior female.

The John J. Convery Award is named for John J. Convery PhD., who has served as provost and chief academic officer at CUA for 10 years. An avid supporter of Student Life on campus, he is ever present at university programs and events that foster and celebrate student success.

Like Swarthout, Ajdari is a two-sport athlete at CUA, participating in lacrosse and soccer. She joined the Cardinal soccer program this past fall and appeared in six games as a goalkeeper, totaling 27 saves in 263 minutes, while posting a .794 save percentage.

In lacrosse, Ajdari has appeared in eight games for CUA this season, making four starts during that time. She has stopped 32 shots in over 260 minutes of work and was named the Landmark Conference Defensive Player of the Week on April 16.

Off the field, Ajdari carries a 3.87 grade point average in philosophy and is a multi-year member of the Landmark Conference Academic Honor Roll. As a freshman, she was named her class' representative for the lacrosse team's leadership council, which helped her integrate with the entire times, while providing a voice for the freshman class.

Ajdari also tutors her teammates in philosophy and finds time to serve as a University Fellow.

This award is presented in his honor to a sophomore student who has been active in student life and academic pursuits and has demonstrated leadership potential for his or her future endeavors at CUA.